Running the Race (Part 2)

Bible Reading: Hebrews 12:1-3

Maria frantically searched through her closet and dresser drawers. “Mom?” she called. “I don’t know what I did with my running shorts, and I need them for the race tomorrow.”

“What’s going on?” asked her older brother Carlos, stepping into the room.

“Have you seen my running shorts?” asked Maria, her head still in the closet.

Carlos picked up a pair of jeans from the bed. “Here,” he said, holding them out to Maria. “Wear these.”

“I can’t wear those, Carlos!” Maria said crossly.

“You probably could if necessary,” Mom said as she came into the room with clean laundry, “but when we race, we don’t want any extra weight.” Mom patted the neatly folded running shorts on the top of the stack of clothes. “I washed these for you, along with my own. Shall we get them on and go practice?”

“Oh, right—thanks.” Maria grinned sheepishly as she remembered putting the shorts in the laundry basket the day before.

“No extra weight, huh? Well then, I guess neither of you wants to borrow my lucky horseshoe,” Carlos said with a grin.

“Ha ha,” Maria said, rolling her eyes. “And no, even if you did have a lucky horseshoe, we wouldn’t want it weighing us down. My coach at school says that on the day of a race we should put everything else out of our minds—and out of our pockets too.”

“That’s good advice,” said Mom. “It’s a lot like the advice the writer of Hebrews gives us in the Bible.”

“The Bible gives advice for racing?” asked Carlos. “I didn’t know that.”

“The writer refers to the Christian life as a race,” Mom explained. “He refers to sinful things as weights in our lives and urges us to put them aside. The weight of any sin—such as a half-truth, a bitter spirit, or an impatient attitude—will keep us from doing our best in our life-race. We need to lay those weights aside by confessing them to Jesus. Then we can run toward the finish line without anything weighing us down.”

“That is the best way to race,” said Maria. She picked up her running shorts. “Come on, Mom. Let’s go practice one more time before our race tomorrow!” – Susan S. Arcand

How About You?

Are you a Christian who’s running your life-race free from the weight of sin? Holding on to sin in your life keeps you from experiencing all the joy and blessings Jesus has for you. If you’re weighed down by sin, get rid of it by confessing it to Jesus. He’ll help you lay it aside so you can run toward the finish line without being hindered by any extra weight.

Today’s Key Verse:
Hebrews 12:1 Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.

Today’s Key Thought:

Get rid of sin in your life